Fighting Back
by CalzonaJara
Summary: This is my version of what happened post 9.01. If you haven't seen the episode, be warned of spoilers now! Callie is having trouble coping with everything she's been dealt with when Alex tries to land a helping hand. Calzona relationship, Alex/Arizona friendship.


**I'm sure last night's episode left us Calzona fans shocked. I'm still reeling over the events. I for one, am glad that Arizona at least is still a part of the show, and am looking forward to the storyline that she and Callie will go through this season because it looks like it will be drama packed! Still, I couldn't not write something about it because it was just something that's been in my head since last night... The potential to expand on it is there, the issue, as always, is time.**

* * *

"Dr. Torres... Callie?"

The ortho surgeon raised her head and looked into the eyes of Alex Karev. Tears streamed down her face.

"What part of 'get out' is it that you don't understand, Karev?"

He kneeled down to meet her eye-level. "I heard what you said. That doesn't mean I'm going to listen to you." he replied as he wrapped his arms around her.

Callie hesitated for the briefest of seconds before wrapping her arms tightly around the younger surgeon. Tears cascaded down her face as gut-wrenching sobs escaped her throat.

"I can't do this anymore Alex, I just can't. Mark is dead. Sofia just lost a parent; I lost my best friend. I don't know how to get through to her. I've tried everything I can possibly think of but now she doesn't even acknowledge my presence, she just lays there, staring into nothingness. My daughter has lost both of her other parents and I don't know what to do anymore!"

"I'm so sorry Callie. It should've been me on that plane. Arizona should've never gotten on it..."

"No, don't blame yourself. This isn't your fault. You did nothing wrong. All you did was become the great surgeon Arizona knew you'd be. I know that she was furious with you that day, but deep down, I know she was proud of you. This isn't anyone's fault. I'm the one that gave the go ahead on the amputation. And I've fought with myself, I've blamed myself, but I know that there was no other way around it. It was either the leg or Arizona, and I wasn't going to lose her. She can hate me for the rest of her life, but I wasn't going to give her life in exchange for that leg."

"Everything I am today I owe to her. Arizona was the first person to truly believe in my skills, and the one that pushed me in Peds to become a better doctor. I would give anything to have her be the same as before, but there is nothing we can do to turn back time, Callie. We have to move forward. You lost Mark, yes, but you have the rest of us. We are all with you on this. We aren't going to leave you. You have me too. I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying right here where I belonged all along. I will keep the department running just like Arizona would want it, until she gets back. She will be back. We will get her back."

"She refuses to see anyone Alex. She won't see me, or her parents, she won't even listen to my pleas on trying to get through this for Sofia's sake. It's been months, and there's no getting through to her. I'm at a loss of what to do..."

"Let me give it a try..."

"She will tear you a new one, I wouldn't advise it. I doubt that anyone can get through to her at this point..."

"What's the worst that can happen? She yells at me? Hits me? I can take it. At least it will get a reaction out of her. There's a lot at stake here Torres; I think it's worth a shot, don't you?"

"At this point, anything is worth a shot."

* * *

She heard the front door open and close. It was to be expected; Callie had been leaving the hospital at around this time for the past few weeks, though she'd long given up on coming into their bedroom. Arizona could usually hear her put Sofia to bed, eat something quick and then settle on her makeshift bed on the sofa for the evening. The first few days after coming home, Callie had tried to get her to open up, to share their bed, only to be kicked out of the room time and again until she'd just given up. It had been weeks of her being left alone, just as she'd wanted, so she was surprised when she heard the door open and someone step inside.

"Stay out! Is it really that difficult to understand, Calliope? Get out!"

"I know that it has been a year, and that after everything that's happened, you may not remember it, but I do."

"What the hell are you doing here Karev? GET OUT!"

"I'll leave, but not before I say everthing I came here to say."

"I don't want to hear anything! GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY APARTMENT!"

"STOP!"

Arizona looked at him, startled.

"Enough! You think you can bully everyone around because you don't have a leg anymore? Get over it!"

"Get ov—"

"STOP! You are going to shut up, and LISTEN to me."

Arizona stared at her protegé, completely dumbfounded.

"I can see that Callie has let you push her around for the better part of three months because she thinks that you're entitled to it, but I think she's wrong. I was there, Arizona, and I saw everything. I saw you broken in that gallery, staring down at the love of your life hanging onto life by a thread as everyone operated on her and Sofia after going through a freaking windshield. Everyone did everything they possibly could to save her and look, a little over one year and a half later here she and your daughter are, alive, and you're pushing them away! Do you remember what you said then? Do you?!"

Arizona had tears in her eyes, but refused to speak.

"You kept blaming yourself, over and over again. 'If only I'd said no to the trip. If only I'd kept my eyes on the road, this wouldn't be happening.' You were praying to a God you don't believe in to save the woman you love and her unborn child, even if that unborn child was Mark's. I told you over and over again, just like everyone else did, that it wasn't your fault. It had been an ACCIDENT, no one was to blame. You wouldn't hear any of us. Callie never blamed you. Even through the hell she went through, the hell Sofia went through, she never once blamed you. Instead she pushed herself harder than I had ever seen a patient work, to get herself back to you, to her daughter who needed her other mother."

Arizona's unshed tears were no more as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"What happened, that plane crash, it wasn't her fault. It wasn't your fault either. It was no one's fault, it just happened. I wish to God it hadn't happened. Every night I lay awake and wish that it had been me on that plane instead of you. Do you know how much it hurts to see you broken like this? This isn't the Arizona Robbins I know. What happened to the good man in a storm? Has she already given up? What happened to you, Arizona, wasn't Callie's fault. You losing your leg was the only way to keep you alive. I know that you feel betrayed and angry. Yes, Callie is the best there is in her field, but even she couldn't do anything to save your leg. You had been out in the middle of nowhere for days Arizona. There was no stopping that infection. It was either your life or your leg, and Callie didn't hesitate to make the decision that would save your life. Yes, you lost your leg, yes, it's going to be a bitch to go through rehab and learn to walk again with a prosthesis, but you're ALIVE, can't you see that?! Lexie died out there, Mark died yesterday, Derek may never operate again… You are here, with your two hands intact. You have a wife who loves you and has stood by you throughout this ordeal even when you've pushed her away. You have a toddler who just lost her father… don't make her lose her mama too…"

Arizona sobbed uncontrollaby as tears continued to roll down her face.

"You have me. I'm not going anywhere. The guy who is here to replace you is a complete douche. I'm staying here and running the department the way you want it run, so that it can be the same when you get back."

He inched closer and tentatively sat down on Arizona's right side. He laid a hand on her shoulder. He considered it a small victory when she didn't slap it away.

"We're not giving up on you Robbins. You're going to get up out of this bed and get better. Your wife needs you. Your kid needs you. The kids at the hospital need you… and I need my mentor back. Everything I am, the doctor I've become, is because of you. You had faith in me, you believed in me when no one else did. I was accepted into the best Peds fellowship in the country because of the doctor YOU helped me become. I'm not leaving you here to continue pitying yourself and your life. I don't care what it takes. Callie and I will get you through this. You can yell at and hit me all you want Robbins, I'm not going anywhere."

Arizona grabbed onto Alex and cried into his arms.

"She must hate me! I've been terrible to her! For months, I've done nothing but insult her and push her away. Why would she even want to deal with me now?" she sobbed.

Alex hugged her back. "She is still here, she'll always be here; because she loves you. She would do anything to turn back time and make you well again. She would give her leg for yours if she could, we both would Zo. Callie loves you. She will be here every step of the way. And so will I."

"She will never forgive me Alex. I've said terrible things. I haven't even seen Sofia…"

"She understands the pain you're going through Zo, believe me. She will forgive you. Just give her a chance to show you how much she cares."

Arizona held on tighter as she tried to regain what little composure she had to begin with. Slowly, the tears stopped, and her breathing returned to normal.

"I want my life back, Alex. I want my baby, and my wife. I know that at this point, I don't deserve them after what I've put them through, but I want them back."

"Get your girls back Zo, they never left."


End file.
